You need to come to PEI. There are many waterfront landowners who own to the high-water mark but most locals are more likely to come down with a beer in hand for you so they can ask you all about your boat, who your father is, etc...

There is the odd person who might object. However, and I don't mean to paint all with the same brush, but they are more likely folks from "away" who just summer here and are more used to a more stringent culture. (That's about as polite as I can put that.)

blewbayou:Up until a couple yrs ago we spent most of our summers up in Michigan in the Traverse city area (now gas is too expensive). My wife has spent nearly every summer there since she was a child. We have launched our Kayaks from many of the parks and beach areas mostly just going out for the a few hours. I like to dive, so we often just putz around enjoying the beauty and looking for nice dive spots. We are campers and there are several smaller lakes in the area like Duck lake and Silver lake with campgrounds that are also fun. Up on the UP there are many parks that we go to, take the yaks off the car and just have fun with our yaks exploring. We are always on the lookout for rivers with mild rapids to run, The Huron river in Ann Arbor, MI is our favorite. We have circled lake Michigan (by car) many times on camping trips. I would love to someday camp at Mackinaw City, then sail our TI out to Mackinac Island for the day (on lake Huron), then sail back (possibly the next day after staying at the Grand Hotel (we love that place)). We would land in front of the Hotel, and hang out for the day, I just called them (Grand Hotel) and the guy said that would be no problem to park on the beach in front of the hotel ( a little rocky though, not like Florida beaches LOL). It looks on the map to only be about 6 miles out to the Island, on a nice day with the right wind I think we could make it in 30 minutes or so. It looks to be about the same distance as we go from Ft Desoto (Florida) boat launch out to Egmont key (6-7 miles), we have made that trip many times in around 30-45 minutes. We have taken the ferry out to Mackinac Island many times, and it can get rough out in the open water, so I'm not sure I would attempt in a Revo or Oasis, but then again here is someone who has done it in regular kayaks ( http://www.pastoneskipping.com/mackinac/2007/.Probably a shorter trip from the St Ignace (maybe 4 miles).Bob

I don't mean to paint all with the same brush, but they are more likely folks from "away" who just summer here

Like Mike Duffy???

A little Canadian political humour for those of you who don't understand.

I'm assuming that the original poster was asking about the American sides of the Great Lakes. I've sailed around Toronto, and other parts of the Canadian side of Lake Ontario, and there are all kinds of beaches to pull up on. I'm assuming that the U.S. is different. I did experience one time where people were a little upset that my wife had to use the facilities in their "private" marina, but that's probably more the Toronto culture around that specific marina, more than the norm. Anywhere else that I've been, if you can pull up to the beach or marina, it's usually not a problem at all.

Probably you will want to know who owns the beach that you are landing on.

I bought a H16 last year (one of the best decisions I ever made) and was launching it from the Edgewater boat ramp for the tail end of the summer.

The Edgewater boat ramps are part of the Edgewater marina in Cleveland Ohio.

The Ohio State parks have a rule about boating and swimming at the same beach. In general you can't. There has to be a special swimming and boating beach to do both. Just look for the people with the PWC's.

Edgewater park (different from Edgewater marina) is a bit west of Cleveland and they have a swimming only, and a swimming and boating beach. There is a jetty. West of the jetty you can sail up to the beach and park your boat on the beach.

Last year I took my 10, and 13 year old and sailed over to the beach (west of the jetty) for an afternoon of sand and picnic.

Nick, Interesting to hear about your experiences at Edwater Park. I live in the Cleveland/Akron area and I too have a Hobie 16 but unfortunately have not used it for 11 years (co-incidentally a time equal to the age of my eldest child ):?: Now that my youngest is of an age to take out sailing I pulled the boat up from its resting place at the end of the field and started to clean it up and figure out whether it was salvagable In the meantime I attended a Demo day of Buckeye Sports and fell in love with the TI as it seems a great option to be able to take camping with us and as a family boat with kids a little younger than yours.

I used to be in a fleet that operated off the beach by Geneva State Park which was awesome as we could leave the boats on the beach and roll themdown to the water which made life simple. Unfortunately they lost the lease on the property and the club folded.I am getting pretty close to pulling the trigger on a new TI but may try to get the 16 back in action. I had often wondered how launching a 16 from Edgewater would be? Do you launch from the ramp or the grass/beach?

Ahh... I'm not sure about the grass/beach area at EP. The grass/beach area gets kind of crowded and it is a swimming area (no boats) nonetheless. I always used the boat ramp. The H16 is a boat after all and so I always went there. I mean, it is the closest to where I live, there is parking for my trailer, It just makes all the sense. Sailing directly to and from a dock like that one needs to be very careful about the wind direction and how to depart and approach the dock. Putting it in the water is just like any other boat on a trailer. I put the mast up in the parking lot with it still tied to the trailer. Then I back it down the ramp, tie it to the dock, then go and park my car and trailer.

Make sure the boat is pointing into the wind and there is no chance the wind will blow the boat onto the dock. Then I hoist the jib and the main and go. Getting in and out of that channel is not as hard as it looks but you might want to check Google maps satellite view to see whet you are getting into.

This year things are different. This year I have a spot at Whiskey Island. Whiskey Island is like how you describe Geneva State Park before they lost their lease.

I would recommend getting your 16 back in action instead of getting a TI (but thats just me).